On Monday morning, a bloated dead whale washed towards the shore in San Diego.<\/p>\n
It happened at San Elijo Campground at Cardiff State Beach, and lifeguards quickly got to work, towing the carcass out to sea where it could decompose naturally.<\/p>\n
But amidst the transfer of the corpse, great white sharks<\/a> showed up. It was a free buffet for the sharks, who began feasting on the whale while it was being towed towards the horizon. As such, warnings were issued for surfers and swimmers in the area due to the elevated shark activity. Check out the footage of sharks chomping on the whale below.<\/p>\n Per the Solana Beach Lifeguards<\/a>, footage shows a shark going to town on the whale while the officials are using jet skis to drag the creature out to sea.<\/p>\n They explained:<\/p>\n \u201cThis morning, the Solana Beach Lifeguards, alongside with\u00a0@sdsla\u00a0responded to a whale carcass drifting ashore. They temporarily relocated the carcass to prevent it from hitting the shoreline, and eventually turning it over to other resources. Throughout the relocation, sharks were actively engaging with the carcass in the area. Shark sighting signage has been posted, but as of now beach closures are not in effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Due to the incident, The City of Encinitas issued a warning to surfers and swimmers:<\/p>\n \u201cThis morning, a dead whale was found floating approximately 400 yards off the coast, directly off San Elijo Campground at Cardiff State Beach. Encinitas lifeguards assisted State Parks with towing the whale carcass out to sea. During that time, lifeguards observed a shark following the whale carcass.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whale carcass is now over a mile from the coastline, but beachgoers should use caution when entering the water in this area over the next few days. Shark sightings should be reported to Encinitas lifeguards at (760) 633-2750.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Great White Shark Chases Foil Surfer for 10 Miles in Santa Barbara (Video)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Already this season in Southern California, it has been especially sharky. Experts believe that\u2019s due to warmer waters, fueled by a marine heatwave known as \u201cThe Blob\u201d in the Pacific Ocean, and the potential impending \u201cSuper\u201d El Ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started seeing baby white sharks about four-and-a-half feet long about a month ago, which is really early,\u201d said Dr. Chris Lowe of the\u00a0Shark Lab<\/a>. \u201cNow the simple explanation for that is the water is really warm right now, unusually warm for this time of year. So based on that, we predict it\u2019s going to be a very sharky summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: 10-Foot Shark Shuts Down Surf Contest in Huntington Beach (Video)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Surfer<\/a> on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Surfer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n